The football has been great since Chris came in and I'm very grateful for that, however, we can always improve and if we are to change something about the way we play next season, (players permitting), then I'd like to see less reliance on attack, from defenders, and more reliance on attack from strikers.
I'll explain:
Chris has deployed a style of play where the onus on attacking comes, to a large extent, from the half-backs, overlapping down the flanks. The likes of Baldock or Stevens, are entrusted to get forward and deliver balls into the box. Occasionally also, they'll be backed up by Centre backs going forward to provide additional attacking threat. This tactic is based on a possession game, with frequent switching of the ball from side to side until we find a gap in the other team's defence, and then we pour men into that gap to exploit it. This is something that Chris refers to as "over-loading". Let's be honest, it's worked really well in many of the games, few teams expect to have a centre-half marauding through their defence or overlapping on the flank. However, there's a downside to it as well.
It's very much a game of "cat and mouse", holding onto the ball and waiting for a gap to appear. So it's somewhat slow and predictable at times. When faced with a 10 man defence it can be quite laborious and result in a bit of a stalemate. Another disadvantage that I see is that it often results in defenders taking the lead in terms of attacking - so you have slower players, with less goal-scoring instinct, in key positions around the box, when really what you want to have is your strikers marauding down on goal. Take Stevens as an example, there are many times when he's led the Indian charge down the left, but on getting into the box he doesn't have the final burst of speed, or quickness of feet, to turn that into a goal-scoring opportunity. So, it comes backwards again - to O'Connell, to Fleck, to Duffy, to the other flank, to Basham, to Baldock, back to Basham, back to Fleck, back to O'Connell, back to Stevens....and we start again.
In my opinion, the way to fix this would be to have pace up front, particularly on the flanks. So, when we start that attack, the ball is with a "winger" type player - who can run like the wind and get past defenders - and either put a devastating ball in to our strikers - or cut inside and have a pop himself. This is something we don't have at present. And it's why we end up with this slow, side to side, then occasionally backwards, build up.
Oh for a Paul Devlin type player (or a Jamie Murphy). Someone who can set off at speed and take the ball with him and scare the living daylights out of the opposition defence with his pace.
Maybe it's coming?
